Review of Blue Period

I can repeat the sentiment that Blue Period fails as an adaptation of a beloved manga, but while I understand the frustrations of fans of manga, let us remember that a work of art and its themes can be detached and analyzed based on what we see and what we take out of it. With that considered, what remains of the anime version of Blue Period is a solid character study and story about how talent is not granted, but formed through perseverance. Now don’t get me wrong - I still have reservations about what I watched, and I’m disappointed even after my brief exposure tothe manga. For an anime about creating art, I wish the show took advantage of the medium of animation to illustrate the creative process. The first and fifth episodes contained sequences that embody this lost potential. Maybe it’s due to the limits of Seven Arcs as a studio, but the animation couldn’t service these moments, and thus the intricacies of painting are disrespected by only showing basic paint strokes or just cutting out the painting to its completion. The ironic result is that a show about art relies too much on dialogue on what art is and why we create art,

Despite its visual shortcomings, Blue Period has great characters who create through relatable struggles that many of us face every day. The show has characters who grapple with depression, anxiety, stress, mental burnout, the strife between professionalism and passion, and gender nonconformity. To these characters, art is simultaneously joy and dread, but each of them utilizes it to work through their conflicts to reach realizations and to work toward closure.

The characters brought me back each week. The main lead Yatora has an underdog story that borders on the cliche, but I was hooked enough to keep watching. The supporting characters, especially Kuwana, Hashida, and Oba-sensei, were fun and did their supporting job well. I am still not sure how I feel about Yotasuke, but I think that’s the point - he’s a cold and pretentious genius in the art world, so of course, he would be a pain to work with! But the star of the show was Ryuji “Yuka” Ayukawa, who is probably the best representation of a queer character that I’ve seen in 2021’s anime, whose story may have outshined Yatora’s. In that case, Blue Period might be worth watching just for Yuka if you’re looking for explorations of mental health, gender identity, and sexual orientation. Even though a lot of these characters fill existing archetypes and cliches, they were still enjoyable.

The rest of the show, especially in terms of animation, music, and sound aren’t things I can praise or even criticize, because when considering the massive field of anime in 2021, they just fail to stand out. In fact, when you break it down, Blue Period is a basic story that plays it safe but still does well. Regardless, it was still an enjoyable watch that kept me emotionally invested.

Again, Blue Period doesn’t live up to the hype, but it is still a solid anime and I’m glad I watched it during its original run. With that in mind, the series is good enough for a good 7/10. Your mileage may vary if the show doesn’t serve what you’re looking to get out of all this, but if the synopsis leaps out at you, I’d recommend that the show is worth a try.